At this point the Journal Sentinel owes Alderman Zielinski an apology

It has bothered me greatly since I read the June 22 article about Alderman Zielinski in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – an article that apparently uses nearly a dozen ANONYMOUS sources.

What’s right is right, and what the newspaper did last week to Alderman Zielinski is wrong. It is shameful to see a newspaper that was once an outstanding source for news and information sink to such a low and unprofessional level.

The use of unnamed anonymous sources disturbs me to no end. The article is filled with accusations from people unwilling to come forward publicly to say what they should be saying on the record.
Alderman Zielinski has not been charged with any crime. Additionally, there is zero evidence that an investigation is ongoing or even exists.

In my view this is printing mere gossip, and to feature the article on the FRONT PAGE is simply reprehensible. Perhaps we should do a fact-check this article? Oh wait – there are no facts to check.

When I was a candidate running against Mayor Barrett, dozens of people – prominent business people – told me that they would not contribute to my campaign because they were fearful of retaliation against them from the Mayor if they did.

Those fears may or may not have been accurate, but where was the article about that at that time? The headline might have been “Business owners concerned about Barrett retaliation” or something similar.

But guess what – they didn’t publish any such article (with anonymous sources) – and rightly so.

Again, the newspaper owes Alderman Zielinski an apology. I’m pretty sure it won’t be coming.

It is sad, outrageous and a disservice to the community what the newspaper published about my colleague. It is also sad to see a once reliable and informative news source deteriorate to the point that it publishes gossip pieces on the front page.

Absent an apology perhaps the Journal Sentinel could, at the very least, run an advice column on how a person gets their reputation back.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.